Witches of Three_Seraphina (6 page)

“Something like that,” Sera said, giving up on the stubborn buckhorn that seemed to have taken up permanent residence. “By the way,” she sat back on her heels and wiped her forehead. “I’d prefer you not let anyone into my house when I’m gone. I gave you my house key just as a precaution in case there was a problem like fire or something.”

“Oh, dear, I’m sorry,” Janet said. “Francis told me you wouldn’t like it, but the deed was done, and he seemed like such a nice young man.” She cocked her head and cast a puzzled glance at Sera. “Why didn’t you use Malone’s like you usually do?”

For the first time, Sera realized Jack had appeared from a different plumbing company. She sat trying to puzzle things out. Why hadn’t she noticed that before? Because she was drunk out of her mind last night and too preoccupied with her visitor to think about such mundane things as the plumber’s name. Still, when she’d called the number for Malone’s, she’d reached Jack. Strange! Now she glanced at Janet, who was waiting for an answer to her question, her bright, gray eyes unrelenting in their quest to know all of Sera’s business.

Sera sighed. Janet and Frank or Francis Prescott had moved in two years before and had set up an assault on the whole neighborhood to win friends and become an influential and necessary power on the block. Janet was a force to be reckoned with. Already she knew more about Sera than Sera knew herself, or so she liked to joke to herself about her neighbor. Now Janet stood watching her, the ever-present watering hose emitting its weak stream of water. Some of the water had breached the property line and was now wetting down the patch of ground where Sera worked.

“Didn’t Malone’s do a good enough job for you?” Janet propped.

“I-I thought they were a bit pricey and decided to at least try someone new,” Sera said weakly and went back to dividing an overly large lily.

“I always say you get what you pay for,” Janet said airily. “If you’re tight on money, Francis and I could hel—”

“That’s most kind of you,” Sera said, getting to her feet. “Money wasn’t the issue.”

“Oh, well, if you ever need any help, Francis and I could help you out.”

Much to Sera’s relief, Janet coiled her hose, turned off the water and headed for her back door. Sera was sure Janet was headed right for her phone to pass along any innuendo of gossip she had gleaned from their conversation.

“Drat!” Sera said, throwing down her trowel.

She had no wish to continue with her gardening now. She tramped into her utility room and kicked off her clogs before heading for the refrigerator. She wanted the darkest, sweetest chocolate—anything she could find, preferably with whipped cream. She was going to binge and feel sorry for herself for the rest of the afternoon. Then she was going to call up her sisters and tell them to butt out of her life and not send any more surprises.

* * * *

“Damn!” Trent stood, clutching the phone.

She’d hung up, and he could tell she was upset with him. Well, she wouldn’t be the first, but this time, it bothered him more than usual.

He thought of her soft voice in his ear, the obvious pleasure, the shyness as if she wasn’t used to calling up a man after a morning’s romp. Hell, no. He put down the phone. If she was Mannie Somner’s girlfriend, she was no innocent. She was a good actress, though.

“So who was that?” Hurley asked, watching him closely.

“Just a woman,” Trent said evasively.

“Is she our target?”

“Mannie Somner’s our target,” Jack snapped.

“Is she connected with him?” Eugene persisted. He was going to make a top-notch agent someday, but that didn’t make him likable right at this moment.

“I don’t know,” Jack hedged.

“But she’s the one we’re keeping under surveillance.” The bastard was persistent.

Jack felt like rebuking him, but he was young and eager, and Jack didn’t want to dampen that spirit. It was Jack’s own fault that he was in this situation, and he couldn’t blame Hurley for asking. If the roles were reversed, he’d be demanding answers too.

“Yeah, she’s the one we’re watching.”

“Sounds like she has a thing for you,” Hurley observed.

“Hardly. We just met last night and again this morning when I retrieved my equipment.”

“Well, you’re not exactly an ugly guy. Babes go for you, so why not this one? If I had someone like Somner for my main squeeze, I’d be looking around. Maybe she could lead us to Somner more quickly if you stroked her a bit.”

Jack cast him a glance that made the younger agent back down and look away.

“I’ll think about it,” Jack said finally and stalked back to the bedroom where he laid down and bunched the pillow under his head.

The sound of her voice still swirled in his head, all soft and feminine, which awakened memories of the taste and feel of her. Christ, she was a ditzy girl, that was for sure, but something about her got to him.

Maybe Hurley was right? Maybe he should play on the contacts he’d already made with her? Maybe that would help him get to Somner faster? He thought of the morning with Sera, and something pushed its way forward, something he’d been trying to ignore.

She
had
been a virgin!

No matter what she’d said, women couldn’t fake something that well, could they? Maybe she was Somner’s daughter instead of his girlfriend? That didn’t excuse his deflowering her. What if she had been trying to protect her father? Then he thought of her expertise and apparent knowledge of the Kama Sutra and felt better. She hadn’t been a virgin! Over the years, how many men had been fooled into believing they were the first by women far more experienced and wily than they?

“Come on, Trent,” he groaned. “How big of a fool do you have to be?”

He didn’t know the answer to that, but he was pretty sure he was going for the top of the line in that category.

He waited a day, to rethink things, to be sure he wasn’t looking for an excuse to see her again. He thought about calling his superior, but decided against it. His tryst with Sera Spencer wasn’t something he wanted to share with anyone else. Finally, he salved his conscience for his lapse of judgment by a plan to continue to befriend her, in whatever capacity that entailed, and gain her trust. Maybe then she’d let something slip about their suspect. Having made up his mind, he closed the door against any personal feelings or moral indictment. This was no time to let emotions and feelings get into the situation. Not when he was so close to his target.

Two days later, he dropped by the library. A good safe place to start, he figured. She wasn’t at the checkout desk as he’d expected, but he glimpsed her in the windowed office talking to a tall, broad-shouldered man who stood a little too close and looked at her with a sappy expression on his face. Sera laughed at something he said and swung her head so her hair tumbled over her shoulder and brushed his arm. Trent disliked him instantly.

“Can I help you, sir?” a young dark-haired woman asked with a smile. A nametag proclaimed she was Denise.

Jack glanced from her to the couple in the glassed office and shook his head. “I just thought of something,” he said. “Thanks anyway.”

With long strides, he left the library, got in his car and sat thinking about what he’d just witnessed. There was an ease between Sera and the man as if they were comfortable with each other. Lovers, maybe? Okay, that made sense. A beautiful woman like that would have admirers—male admirers. Had she gone to bed with him? Trent guessed she had. Young women were easy with their sexuality these days. Then why pretend she was a virgin with him? Actually, she hadn’t. He’d been the one to jump to that conclusion, and she’d quickly informed him of the truth.

Damn! He had more important things to think about than a woman’s sex life. He started his car and jammed his foot down on the accelerator, screeching out of the parking lot like some sulky, pimply-faced kid. He didn’t like himself at the moment, and he liked Sera Spencer even less.

Chapter Six

He went back to their safe house for a sandwich and a beer and was greeted at the door by an elated Eugene.

“There was a call from her phone,” he said excitedly.

“Are you sure?” Trent stared at him. How could someone be using her phone when she was at the library?

“You tell me. I’ve got it right here on the equipment
you
set up.”

“Jesus!” Trent stared at him wide-eyed then rushed to the tape, flicked the switch and played what had been recorded. A ringing was interrupted by a garrulous female voice.

“Hello?”

“Ma, how’re you feeling?”

“Mannie, is that you? You know I’m out of the hospital now. I’m back home.”

“Who’s there with you, Ma?”

“Nobody. I’m here by myself.”

These words were followed by a string of curses. “Where’s Theresa? She should be there.”

“She went to the grocery story. She’ll be back,” said Mannie’s mother. “Where are you, son?”

“I can’t tell you that yet, Ma. Pretty soon.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Manny…” There was a hesitation. “You didn’t do what they said, did you? You didn’t take all that money from those people, did you?”

“No, Ma. It’s a case of mistaken identity. They’ll get it straightened out.”

“I worry about you, son,” his mother said.

“I gotta go, Ma. I’ll call you again.”

The conversation ended abruptly.

“When did this come in?” Jack demanded, checking the time schedule himself.

“About a half hour ago.”

“Did you go over to her house?” Jack demanded.

Eugene gave him an annoyed glare. “Of course. I went over immediately, but the place was shut down tight. I popped the lock and went in, but no one was there. He’d already left.” He hesitated. “Do you think it’s Mannie Somner?”

“Yeah, it’s him,” Jack said, his mind made up. He headed toward the door, his hunger forgotten. “I’ll be back in a little bit. Hold things down.”

“You got it,” Eugene said. “Pick up some more beer.”

Jack waved a reply, hopped in his car and headed back to the library. It wasn’t too late to ask a certain librarian out to lunch. If he’d had any qualms about using a little romance to get to Somner, they’d just disappeared.

Of course, she hadn’t been at home and might not even know about her phone being used, he thought then dismissed the idea. It was her phone, her house, her problem, and she was as wily and untrustworthy as Somner himself.

“Oh, you’re back,” Denise, the girl at the checkout desk, said when she spotted him.

“Yes, I’d like to see Miss Spencer. Is she busy?”

“I’ll check,” Denise said and picked up the desk phone.

“What was your name again?” she asked, smiling at him.

Jack told her and waited while the information was relayed to Sera. The girl hung up and motioned to the hall leading to the back of the library.

“Just go on back, first door on the left,” she said, her friendly expression not quite hiding her curiosity.

Jack followed her directions and found himself in the room visible from the library. Denise was busy checking out books for someone else, but she looked up and caught Jack’s eye. He nodded and turned his attention to the rest of the room and the woman seated at a table. The good-looking man was gone.

Sera bent over a book, a jar of paste and a brush in her hand, her blonde hair spilling forward, half hiding her face. She looked up when he took a step forward and smiled brilliantly.

“Hello,” she said warmly, putting down the brush. “I’m glad to see you again.”

“Why?” Jack asked, falling back on his tough guy demeanor to hide his pleasure at her warm greeting.

Then he remembered Somner and the phone call he’d made from her phone. She hadn’t answered his question, but her pale cheeks took on a becoming blush. Her glance said surely he must know after what had passed between them.

Keep your cool, he reminded himself, you’re going to romance the girl and get the guy you want. He smiled then, assuming an easy air. Hell, he didn’t know what women found sexy, he’d never had to try hard to please them, but now he hoped his smile said it all or all that she expected from him.

“I thought you might be hungry for some lunch,” he said, stepping close to her.

She bent her head back to look up at him, and her gleaming hair brushed against his hand, reminding him of how soft she was all over.

She hesitated in answering, her glance going to a brown paper bag that he guessed held yogurt and something disgustingly green and good for you.

“Are you inviting me to join you?” she asked. “If so, I’d love to.”

She gave him another one of her smiles that just about knocked his socks off and got to her feet. That put them in very close proximity to each other, and he had to fight an urge to pull her into his arms and thoroughly kiss that sweet mouth. Her gaze sought and found his, and they stood lost in each other. Jack forgot about his pledge to use her to get Somner, and she just stared at him with open hunger and not one any café could assuage.

Ever aware of the glass partition that left them exposed to the people in the library, he stepped back and allowed her to pass him without touching her, when his hands itched to do so.

Careful, Jack, he told himself and followed her trim little butt out of the office and through the main library.

“I’ll be back in an hour,” she told Denise.

“Or two,” Jack said and winked.

Denise giggled.

“Tell me about your family,” Jack said later when they’d pushed back their plates and were dawdling over their sweetened tea. He’d deliberately kept the conversation on general things to get her to relax and trust him, not that she distrusted, he guessed, but he didn’t want her to start. One of her hands lay on the table between them, and he put his on top. She raised her head to gaze into his eyes. Her blue orbs were the most beautiful shade he’d ever seen, and they were filled with all sorts of emotions. She couldn’t hide her feelings, he thought, then reminded himself, she’d done a pretty good job so far. She was a better actress than he’d given her credit for.